Cannes 2015: Festival High Heel Policy Sparks Outrage

Some Cannes attendees protest the festival’s heel’s-only policy for women on the red carpet.

According to new reports, the Cannes Film Festival is not allowing women into screenings if they are wearing flat shoes.

Film producer Valeria Richter, who has part of her left foot amputated, says she was stopped at the Cannes Film Festival for not wearing high heels.

Valeria Richter, who was eventually allowed in, spoke after Cannes was accused of turning away women in flat shoes.

The festival has denied heels are part of the official dress code.

A spokeswoman said ushers had been “reminded” of this, suggesting women in flat shoes would now be admitted.

However, numerous festival-goers have reported seeing women being turned away.

Among them was Asif Kapadia – whose Amy Winehouse documentary premiered in Cannes last weekend – who said his wife had been stopped on the red carpet but was “eventually let in”.

Although Valeria Richter was eventually granted entry, she said “many of my colleagues who can’t wear heels were rejected and did not come in”.

Festival director Thierry Fremaux has said “rumors” of a ban on heels were “unfounded”.

Writing on Twitter, Thierry Fremaux said: “For the stairs, the regulations have not changed: <<No smoking, formal wear>>. There is no mention of heels.”

The row is awkward for Cannes in a year when it was seeking to address sexism in cinema.

The festival opened with a female-directed film for the first time since 1987, and organizers have endorsed a series of Women in Motion talks by stars such as Isabella Rossellini and Salma Hayek.